It’s not always easy to see long distance family. My family and I who live in Menlo Park, CA haven’t seen our in-laws who live in Boston, MA in over a year. Fortunately, we use ūmi two times per week for 30 minutes to 1 hour to connect.

Although we won’t see our in-laws in-person for another 5 months, ūmi has definitely proven to be a very interesting way for my 2 ½ year old daughter to play with her eldest nephew, Thomas. They do jumping jacks, play word games, and even practice playing music together.

Check out this video of Thomas showing off his new found trumpet skills over ūmi and teaching Ava how to play.

My father and I are really close, but getting together can be tough. I live in San Francisco, and he lives near San Diego with his partner Ruth. I keep fairly busy with work, and can’t always take off for a weekend visit. Plus, he doesn’t like to fly much these days. Recently, he bought me a Cisco ūmi Home TelePresence system so we could keep in touch face to face. I must say, being able to see him in my living room whenever I want is fantastic.

Our first call was ideal, because his cousin Ruthie happened to be visiting from Ohio. I’d never met her before (although she says we met when I was a baby). It was so cool to “meet” her in person, and put a face to the name I’d heard for so long. It really was like being there.

Cisco today continued its legacy of leadership in home networking with the launch of its new Linksys® E-Series family − a complete suite of powerful and easy-to-use next-generation Wireless-N routers and switches. With sales of wireless-enabled products, such as tablets and game consoles, steadily growing and Internet video usage exploding, consumers are seeking greater performance, reliability and simplicity from their home wireless solution. The new Linksys wireless-N routers and switches, available today, offer a complete range of options that set a new standard for speed, range, and ease-of-use, while also sporting a visually-appealing new design.

The new Linksys E-Series lineup includes five routers, providing not only the performance needed for today’s connected home, but also help to future-proof for new and emerging technologies that are gaining traction with consumers, such as Internet-enabled TVs and Cisco’s ūmi telepresence for premium video experiences. Designed with faster speeds (up to 450 Mbps*), other key features for select routers in the line include a 3×3 spatial stream configuration for improved coverage, external power amplifiers to maintain signal strength over a greater distance and reduce dead spots, and virtual USB technology to enable wireless printing from any computer. The full line also boasts a new industrial design that combines sleek contours and advanced functionality − recently earning the prestigious 2011 Red Dot Product Design Award for product design, innovation and quality.

These include the Linksys E1200, Linksys E1500, Linksys E2500, Linksys E3200 and the Linksys E4200 (which was launched earlier this year).

New Switches Enable Easy Network Expansion and Power Saving Modes

The three new Linksys switches enable faster and simpler wired connections. New features include plug and play of Ethernet-enabled devices, Quality of Service (QoS) auto-sensing ports, and power saving features. The power saving modes on select models include auto power-down disabling unused ports, sleep mode when all ports are inactive and smart power for short cable runs.

There are eight new products in the Linksys family — five routers and three switches. The suggested retail prices for the routers range from $59.99 to $179.99. Prices of the switches range from $29.99 to $74.99. The full line of Linksys routers and switches are available starting today at retailers nationwide or by visiting the Linksys website at www.linksys.com/store.

There have been a lot of fantastic moments shared between family and friends over Cisco ūmi. People have used umi to transform their HDTVs to bring the family together for a reunion, to broadcast first steps for the grandparents, or even to get a violin lesson from a former teacher. We thank the ūmi community for sharing these stories with us and we look forward to hearing many more.

But even better is when you share how you’re using ūmi, through ūmi! We were so thrilled when a user shared a ūmi video with us that we decided to open up our own ūmi account and welcome videos from all users. Whether your band wants to perform an impromptu concert, you want to share how you virtually met your new nephew or you want to tell us what you think of HD video chatting, we want to hear from you! And you can also use this number to test out your Cisco ūmi system.

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